


strange magic

by gaynozomi (ashisverymuchonfire)



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Band, Djinni & Genies, Eventual Ayase Eli/Toujou Nozomi, F/F, Wishes, but only for setting purposes!!! no sex, nozomi is a little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-11-19 10:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11311365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashisverymuchonfire/pseuds/gaynozomi
Summary: When Eli Ayase is pressured into going on a date with someone she really isn't interested in, the last thing she expects is to be confronted by a purple-haired classmate and asked if she'd like a wish. Yet Nozomi Tojo claims to be a djinn—a genie—with limited but certainly useful powers. Within a matter of days, Eli doesn't need to wonder whether or not Nozomi's powers are legitimate. Instead, her main concern becomes whether or not a mischievous wish-granting genie is worth trusting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi ok so this is my first love live! fic (first anime fic in general actually) but if you don't know me, i've written a lot of other fanfiction so this isn't really my first rodeo lol
> 
> ANYWAY i just started writing this fic and im not the best at updating - truth be told i just wanted to get this out there before ao3 deleted my draft hah - but im already hard at work on chapter 2 so!!! here's a nozoeli modern day genie fic!!
> 
> also follow me on twitter @lesbianryuko or on my tumblr anime blog cruelangelstheses lmao

“Aw, come on, Eli. Just _one_ date.”

Eli would rather not go on any dates, especially not with Haru, but she’s not quite sure how to get the point across without coming off as a total bitch. “I—I’ll be studying all weekend,” she says, which isn’t very far from the truth.

Haru rolls his eyes with a stupid grin. “See? I knew you needed to get out more. A pretty girl like you can’t just go to waste.”

“I’m not,” Eli snaps. Part of her really wants to just turn on her heel and walk away, but the fear of what would happen if she rejected him keeps her rooted in her spot.

“Prove it then,” Haru says. “One date. You and me. If you hate it, I leave you alone for the rest of your life. But you can’t knock it ‘til you try it. What do you have to lose?”

 _My dignity,_ Eli thinks, though she wouldn’t dare say it. Exasperated and on the verge of defeat, she sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “When?” she asks, trying to remain aloof.

“How’s tomorrow evening sound?” Haru says, cocking an eyebrow. “I’ll meet you outside your dorm at six.”

Eli twirls a strand of hair and pretends to think about it, even though she knows she’s going to say yes—not because she’s actually interested in him (she’s not), but because her anxiety is stronger than her stubbornness. “Alright,” she says finally. “Sure. One date.”

Haru flashes her a wide smile. “Great!” he says. “You won’t regret it, babe!”

 _Don’t call me “babe.”_ Before she can even muster up the courage to say that, though, Haru jogs away, waving at her.

Once he’s out of earshot, Eli sighs again, shaking her head. “Damn it,” she mutters, turning away from the building they’d been standing in front of, where she’d just finished her morning class. She kicks a rock at her feet, sending it a few yards down the sidewalk. On the one hand, she can’t believe she actually agreed; at the same time, though, she’s always been intimidated by men, and it’s only gotten worse since the last time she said no to one. Of course she’d let Haru take her on a date. Of course she’d be scared of the alternative.

Slowly, Eli takes a few steps forward, fixing her ponytail and brushing stray hairs out of her face. Just as she’s about to make her way to the cafeteria for her lunch, an unfamiliar voice calls out, “You look like you could use a wish.”

Eli turns back around and finds herself face-to-face with one of her classmates, albeit not one that she knows well. The girl is a bit shorter than her and stockier, with thick, dark purple hair that she usually wears in twin tails down her back. Truth be told, Eli can’t even remember her name, but here she is, eyebrows raised and a sympathetic smile on her face.

“Uh—what?” Eli stammers, narrowing her eyes in complete confusion. “A wish?”

“Yeah,” the girl says nonchalantly. “A wish. To get that guy off your back, or...something. Am I right?”

Eli shrugs. “I mean—well, yeah, I guess so, but...what’s your point?”

The girl waves a hand, pulling an ID card out of her pocket. Flashing it at Eli, she says, “Nozomi Tojo at your service. Certified djinn, occupational troublemaker, and purely recreational astrologer.”

“ _Djinn_?” Eli repeats, dumbfounded as her eyes scan the card. It strongly resembles a driver’s license, save for a blue logo that looks like a magic wand in the upper left corner and the listing of Nozomi as an “Official Certified Djinn—Member of the Djinni” at the bottom. She’ll admit that it does seem legitimate, but that hardly means anything when fake IDs are rampant.

“Yeah, a djinn,” Nozomi says, putting the card back in her pocket. “As in, you know, a genie. As in, I grant wishes. As in, no, I do _not_ live in a lamp that you can rub. Specifically, my home is a red flower pot that sits on the windowsill in my dorm, but nobody ever actually stays in those; they’re just technical residences so that we have a place to go back to. But you don’t really care about that,” she adds. “You just want a wish, right?”

Slowly, Eli says, “What I want is whatever drug you’re on.”

Nozomi pouts, though she doesn’t look genuinely hurt. “Oh, boo-hoo. Humans are so cynical. And skeptical. Good thing I’m used to it! Of course you don’t want a wish just yet. The first thing you want is proof. I can give you proof. Just wish for something—lucky for you, I’ve been awarded with the ability to grant as many wishes as possible, not just three per person. Don’t make it too impractical, though. We _do_ have rules, you know.”

“ _Rules_?” Eli sputters out, barely able to keep up. “Like what?”

“Little to no interference with politics or government, for one,” Nozomi says. “You can’t just wish the President dead. You can’t wish anybody dead, actually. Death is one of the main things we aren’t allowed to have power over, except for maybe those of us at the top of the top. Oh—and personality traits or mental state. Unfortunately, I can’t just poof someone’s insecurities or mental illnesses away. I can find ways to make them better, but I can’t really change a person’s mind—if they’re shy, I can’t just make them _not_ shy. So, like, that guy that asked you out? I can’t just make him _not_ have a crush on you. I _can_ , however, alter other factors.”

Eli bites her lip, unsure as to whether or not she should humor this girl and try making a wish. After a short pause, she says, “Okay. I wish there was a robin on your shoulder.”

“Done,” Nozomi says immediately. She snaps her fingers, and less than a second later, a miniature figurine of Robin the superhero appears out of thin air, perching on her left shoulder as if it’s always been there.

“Wha—” Eli blurts, shaking her head wildly. “What the—? Why—?”

Nozomi shrugs, smiling innocently. “You never specified what kind of robin.”

“That—that doesn’t prove anything,” Eli stutters, though she’s almost one hundred percent certain that she’s not on drugs, and things don’t just appear out of nowhere on a regular basis unless there’s something otherworldly going on.

“It doesn’t?” Nozomi says knowingly, the smile changing from innocent to teasing. “Make another wish, then.”

“I wish your hair was bright green.”

“Kay-kay.” One snap of the fingers later, sure enough, Nozomi’s hair color is a fierce neon green, looking like it’s never been anything else.

“I wish I was holding a book right now.” Eli holds out her right hand.

“Certainly.” _Snap._

All of a sudden, a heavy calculus textbook appears balanced in Eli’s palm. She yelps, grabbing it with her other hand so that she can hold it in both. “Hey!”

“You never said what kind of book.”

For a couple of seconds, Eli just stares at her. Then a laugh bubbles up in her throat, short and almost hysterical. “This is so surreal,” she says, flipping through the very real textbook as if to be absolutely positive that it’s legitimate. An hour ago, she wouldn’t have dreamed that she’d have a genie standing before her, nor can she even begin to imagine the kind of power Nozomi holds in her hands despite her limitations.

Nozomi cocks her head with a charming grin. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“I—how can you help me?” Eli asks. “With Haru? Can you make him forget things?”

Nozomi makes a face, seeming to mull over the options in her head. “If it’s a small enough and recent enough memory, I think I could get away with it.”

“Okay,” Eli says. “Then I wish Haru would forget that he asked me out.”

“Got it,” Nozomi sings, snapping her fingers. “The deed is done.”

Eli laughs again, but this time it’s breathy and filled with shock and relief. “Oh my God. Oh my God, thank you.”

“No problemo.” Nozomi winks. “Now, if you ever need anything, feel free to ask me. I don’t extend this invitation to just anyone, so I hope you’ll use it—use _me_ —wisely.”

 _I don’t want to use you._ The thought is unexpected and strangely tender, but Eli makes sure to hide it. “Th-thank you,” she says again, feeling her face heat up. “I will.”

For a split second, it almost looks as though Nozomi is blushing, too, but Eli can’t be sure. “Great!” Nozomi says, hiding the blush—if it truly _was_ a blush—behind her cheerful, playful nature. “Are you going to lunch now? I am!”

“Uh…y-yeah,” Eli says slowly, looking her up and down. Then, in order to distract herself, she casually asks, “Are you going to keep that green hair?”

Nozomi shrugs. “I guess so, unless you wish for me to change it.”

“Then I wish none of those stupid proof wishes I made had come true.”

“Thanks,” Nozomi says with a laugh and a snap. In a flash, the Robin figurine and the textbook are both gone, and her hair has returned to its usual color. “I wasn’t too keen on that look.” She glances away, then back again, her gaze softening. “So…lunch?”

—

They walk in comfortable silence and with amiable small talk, parting ways once they reach the cafeteria to go sit with their respective friends. Eli and her group usually meet up at around the same time and eat together, and from the looks of it, Nozomi’s friends seem to do that, too. Eli recognizes Nico, a performing arts major, and a sophomore with orangey hair pulled up into a side ponytail, whose name she can’t remember.

Eli is only a few bites into her sandwich when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Surprised and confused, she looks up—and becomes even more surprised and confused when she sees that the hand belongs to none other than Haru.

“Hey, Eli, sorry to bother you, but can we talk for a sec?” he asks with a little smile. It’s strikingly similar to what he said less than an hour ago.

“Um…sure?” she says, hesitantly getting up out of her chair and letting him lead her out of the cafeteria, where it’s less crowded.

“Would you go out on a date with me?” Haru blurts as soon as they’re alone.

“I thought I already—” Eli starts, before realizing that Haru doesn’t remember their previous conversation. “I’m studying all weekend,” she says again.

Haru laughs and rolls his eyes, growing more confident. “I knew you needed to get out more. Come on, Eli, one date. A pretty girl like you can’t just go to waste.”

The most intense feeling of déjà vu washes over her. They had almost the exact same conversation earlier. It briefly crosses her mind that perhaps she could say something different this time, but that idea gets lost in the fear.

“If you hate it, I swear I’ll leave you alone,” Haru continues. “But you can’t knock it ‘til you try it. What have you—?”

“Fine,” Eli interrupts before he has the chance to finish his sentence, a sentence she already knows the ending to. “When? Tomorrow evening?”

Haru grins widely. “You read my mind, babe,” he says. “We can meet outside your dorm at six. Sound good?”

“Perfect,” Eli replies shortly. “Thanks.” Before he can say anything else, she turns around and rushes back into the cafeteria, her head spinning.

Instead of sitting back down at her own table, she goes straight to Nozomi’s. “What the hell?” she says in a rough whisper, disregarding the other girls at the table.

“You’re going to have to elaborate,” Nozomi says calmly, turning around in her chair to face her client.

“Haru just asked me out again,” Eli says.

“I can explain that,” Nozomi says smoothly. “You asked me to make him forget that he asked you out. He did. So then he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I have to ask Eli out,’ completely unaware that he already had. So he did it again. And I’m guessing you said yes again?”

Eli sighs, dropping her head. “Yeah.”

“Oh, there’s no shame in it,” Nozomi assures her. “Some of us are just bad at saying no. And boys can most certainly be persistent in the worst ways sometimes, especially when they want a girl. What you’re saying is, it didn’t work, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, we’ll try something else. What’s your wish?”

Eli has to think about that for a moment. How else could she get out of this? “I wish I could skip the date.”

“Alright.” _Snap._ “When you wake up in the morning, it won’t be Saturday, but Sunday.”

Eli nods. “Okay.” She’s not sure whether she should thank Nozomi or not—the wish still has time to go wrong. “I’ll see you later.”

Then she turns around and starts to head back to her own table, but she’s not fast enough to escape overhearing Nico say, “Is that a new client? She’s cute. I like her.”

—

When Eli wakes up the next morning, sure enough, her phone tells her that it’s Sunday. That’s the first thing she notices. The second thing she notices is the amount of texts she’s received…from Haru.

They’re mostly positive, lovey-dovey messages, too, to make matters worse. A “good morning, beautiful” here, a “how about another date sometime this week?” there—as well as, of course, the obligatory “I told you you’d like it!”

“Nozomi!” Eli hisses. That’s what she gets for trusting a mischievous genie.

“Yes?”

Eli’s heart jumps, and she sits straight up in her bed. As if on cue, Nozomi has appeared right inside the doorway of Eli’s dorm room, eyebrows raised. “You rang?”

“I—how did you—oh, whatever,” Eli says, deciding in that moment not to question Nozomi’s apparent power of teleportation, or whatever other strange things she might do in the future. “Look at this.” Eli shoves the phone in Nozomi’s face.

Nozomi’s eyes scan the messages, her expression betraying both guilt and amusement. “Oops,” she says with a little laugh. “It seems that the date you skipped went very well, at least according to Haru.”

“That is _not_ what I wanted,” Eli says. “I just want him out of my hair.”

Nozomi holds her hands up. “Hey, for the record, a lot of this stuff I don’t do on purpose. The Robin thing? Yeah, that was just to be a little shit. But I didn’t actively make the date go well. I just did what you asked: I made it so that you could skip it. But that’s djinn magic for you, always finding a way to misinterpret or otherwise screw up a wish. Doesn’t mean it won’t work, though. It always works—just not always in the way you expect it to.”

As Eli ponders this for a few seconds, she remembers what Haru said about leaving her alone if the date doesn’t go well. “I wish it was Friday again,” she says, “and I wish that the date on Saturday would go so horribly wrong that we both hate it and never want to see each other again.”

Nozomi grins with a confident nod. “Done and done.”


	2. Chapter 2

An hour before Eli is supposed to meet Haru for their date, Nozomi appears at her door, offering to give her some “non-magical assistance.” This assistance, it turns out, mainly consists of making Eli look as unpresentable as possible without it bordering on absurdity.

“God, none of your clothes are ugly enough or ratty enough,” Nozomi says as she digs through Eli’s dresser drawers. “Ordinarily that would be a good thing, but today it’s not. Wish for awful clothing.”

Raising one eyebrow in pleasantly surprised amusement, Eli says, “I wish for awful clothing.”

When Nozomi snaps her fingers, a collection of dirty, old, and generally ugly clothing fills the room. She turns around with an excited smile. “Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about!”

They decide on a pair of too-big, stretched-out skinny jeans with dirt stains on them and rips too large and awkward to be fashionable. The shirt is a gross dark green turtleneck with a coffee stain on it near the bottom. Old, worn sneakers and mismatched socks complete the outfit, which Eli can’t help but cringe at. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live this down,” she says.

“It’s okay,” Nozomi replies reassuringly. “Later you can wish for everyone who saw you—besides Haru, of course—to forget what you looked like.”

The next half hour or so is spent with Nozomi applying wild makeup to Eli, all while giving her more advice to make the date as bad as possible, just in case the wish somehow backfires.

“Chew with your mouth open. Interrupt him while he’s talking—men hate that, even though they do it to women all the time. ‘Accidentally’ toss a piece of food at him. Act like you don’t care about his interests, even if you do.”

With a nervous giggle, Eli asks, “Why are you helping me?”

Nozomi shrugs. “I figure a little extra mischief on top of the magic won’t hurt. Anything you can do to make it terrible, right?”

“You seem like an expert at these things,” Eli says. “I’ve always been taught how to be presentable, so it feels weird to be going against everything I know.”

“Good thing you’ve got me, then,” Nozomi says. “I’ve got a knack for helping girls out with guys they aren’t interested in. And djinni never worry about presentation, except for maybe my friend Nico, but she’s got her own reasons for that.”

When they’re finished with the makeover, Eli has eyeshadow and lipstick that don’t match and her hair in a messier-than-usual ponytail. “Perfect,” Nozomi says proudly. “Now go! The worst date of your life awaits!”

Normally the thought of the “worst date ever” would be a cause for anxiety and dread, but with Nozomi’s strange magic on her side, Eli’s heart dares to pound instead with hope and even confidence.

Haru doesn’t show up at precisely six o’clock. He doesn’t show up at five after or at ten after. Just as Eli is beginning to wonder—in vain—if maybe, by some miracle, she’s been completely stood up, sure enough, he appears in the distance at no sooner than twenty after six.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Eli,” he pants, frazzled. “I don’t know how that happened, I swear; I guess I just lost track of time…”

“You’re fine; it’s fine,” Eli replies curtly, looking him up and down. His dark hair, which is clearly gelled up in an attempt to look nice, already has a few strands sticking up in odd places. His button-down shirt has sweat stains underneath his armpits, presumably from the rush, and his pants, while on the dressier side, are slightly wrinkled. All in all, though Haru clearly tried harder and still looks better than Eli, neither of them are what one would call “fancy first date” material.

“We should get going,” Haru says, “if we wanna make our reservation at La Bella Donna.”

Obviously embarrassed, Haru leads Eli to his car, seeming to either not notice or not care about her outfit. In an attempt at chivalry, he opens the passenger side door for her, but as she’s about to step in, her foot catches on one of Haru’s, and she trips over him, landing sideways in the seat.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Haru asks immediately, bending over to check on her as she sits up and tries to situate herself.  
  
“I’m fine,” Eli says, brushing her messy hair out of her face. “Don’t worry about it. We’re gonna be late.”  
  
“Right!” Haru says. He closes Eli’s door and then rushes over to the driver’s side, hopping into the seat and starting the car. “Not the best start, huh?” he says casually as they make their way off campus and onto the main road. “Hopefully the rest of it’ll be better.”  
  
Somewhere, Eli thinks she can hear Nozomi laughing.  
  
The next seven minutes or so aren’t completely awful; Eli and Haru mostly just sit and make awkward small talk while Haru drives. The relative peace doesn’t last long, though, because when they’re only a few miles away from the restaurant, someone runs a stoplight and comes barreling toward them.  
  
The driver slams on their brakes (judging by the screeching of the tires, at least), while Haru accelerates in order to get out of the way, honking his horn. The other car misses them by a hair and almost hits the car behind Haru’s, which slows down just in time. “What the hell!” Haru yells.  
  
Eli, of all people, actually finds herself feeling strangely calm for once. Perhaps it’s because she knew deep down that nobody would get hurt, because she trusted that djinn magic—or, at least, Nozomi’s magic in particular—wouldn’t be _that_ malicious. The thing is, she still doesn’t know much about Nozomi or genies altogether, and she wouldn’t put it past a genie to actually do something like that. And yet she put her trust in Nozomi’s powers, even though Nozomi herself admitted that she doesn’t always screw things up on purpose, that sometimes things just happen as a result of a wish. All Eli had said was that she wished the date would go horribly wrong. She didn’t wish for someone _not_ to get hurt in the process, so with djinn logic, someone very well could.  
  
_And yet…_  
  
And yet she trusts that somehow, Nozomi’s power will help her tonight. It has to.  
  
Haru mutters obscenities under his breath the whole rest of the way to the restaurant, but Eli doesn’t pay much attention to them, or to him. Once they park (the only open space being one next to some idiot whose wheels are halfway over the white lines; luckily, Haru’s car is small enough to fit), Haru gets out first and makes his way over to Eli’s side. To add her own special, non-magical touch, courtesy of Nozomi, Eli pretends not to notice that he’s going to open her door for her and starts to open it herself, “accidentally” hitting him with it. “Oops!” she says with a giggle. “Sorry.”  
  
La Bella Donna is a nearby family-run Italian restaurant, and it’s just about as fancy and expensive as it sounds. Eli actually feels bad for Haru, having to spend all this money on a date that’s fated to go wrong—and knowing him, he’ll insist on paying for both of them. But her friend Maki, a freshman, would probably just say that it’s “his own damn fault” for insisting on taking her out on a date in the first place.  
  
Once they’re seated with their drinks ordered, Haru smiles and says, “Well, it was a rough time getting here, but at least we’re here. How are you, beautiful?”  
  
_Still not interested in men, thanks for asking,_ Eli thinks. It’s the truth, but it’s not something she’d ever say to him. Chances are, he’d just assume she’s playing hard to get and try harder. “Not bad,” she says slowly, nodding.  
  
Their waitress comes back with their drinks fairly quickly—so quickly, in fact, that when she’s within reach of their table, she trips over her own two feet, spilling the drinks over both Eli and Haru. “Oh my gosh, I am _so_ sorry,” she sputters, apologizing over and over again and offering all sorts of compensations. Eli and Haru both insist that it’s nothing; Eli’s not sure about Haru, but as for herself, she truly means it—a little water (as that’s all it was) splashing her ugly makeshift outfit is a small price to pay to get a boy off her back.  
  
While a couple of other workers help the waitress to clean their table up and get new drinks for them, Eli and Haru try again to engage in small talk, which mainly consists of debating over which entrée to get. It’s fairly clear to Eli that they’re not really clicking, not even in a platonic way, but she forces herself not to jump to conclusions so quickly. Perhaps in another circumstance, they could actually become friends. It’s just kind of difficult to bond while under the influence of chaos magic, which was pretty much the entire point of Eli’s wish. So, she concludes, maybe it’s not necessarily that they don’t get along; it’s just that Nozomi’s powers are actually working.  
  
After the waitress takes their food orders, Haru excuses himself to go use the bathroom. Almost immediately after he disappears from sight, some random dude who looks to be about Eli’s age sits down in Haru’s seat, grinning in a way that almost seems wicked. “Hey, gorgeous,” he says in a rough voice, looking her up and down, his gaze lingering at her chest area. (He also doesn’t seem to care about her outfit or her mismatched makeup.) “Whatcha doing with a clown like him? Girl like you needs a _real_ man.”  
  
_Actually, a “girl like me” is gay and doesn’t need any man, thank you very much._ Out loud, she says, “Really.” It’s a question, but she says it like a statement.  
  
“Really,” the guy responds, brushing his foot against hers underneath the table. Never a good sign. “You spend a night with me, honey, and that boy won’t stand a chance at winning your heart.”  
  
_Neither of you stand a chance anyway,_ Eli thinks. “You sure do talk the talk,” she says instead, resting her chin in her hands to signify her lack of interest in him without being too rude or obvious.

“And I can walk the walk,” the guy says, reaching forward to grab her hand.  
  
Before he can do that, though, Haru’s voice interrupts them. “You _can_ , can you?”  
  
The guy turns around to face Haru and stands up from the chair, folding his arms across his chest. “Oh, I can,” he says, “and I will.”  
  
Haru doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t even blink. He just rolls his eyes and punches the guy right in the jaw.  
  
For a moment, the guy stares at Haru, stunned, shocked. Then he retaliates with a lunge, a snarl, and a hand grasping for Haru’s throat.  
  
Any attempts that Eli makes to get their attention or get them to stop are completely ignored—they’re trapped in their own personal brawl, kicking, punching, biting, playing absolutely dirty in the middle of a distinguished restaurant. When the unnamed guy swears loudly, Eli becomes certain that they’re going to be kicked out at any moment.  
  
Not wanting to be caught in the crossfire, she stands up and makes her way over to the entrance of the restaurant, brushing by waiters rushing to the scene to put out the metaphorical fire. Eli glances helplessly at the hostess, hoping she looks as frazzled as she feels. The hostess points into the dining area and says, “He’s the one you came with, yes?”  
  
Eli sighs. “Yes.”  
  
The hostess raises an eyebrow. “Your boyfriend?”  
  
Eli shakes her head. “No—just a boy.”  
  
She turns around and walks out of the restaurant, and when she glances over her shoulder, she sees the hostess sending her a sympathetic look. Eli sits down on a nearby bench, and sure enough, only a few minutes later, both Haru and the other guy are thrown out of the place.  
  
“She’s mine,” Haru says, spitting blood onto the pavement. “And we’re going home.”  
  
With that, he takes Eli by the hand and leads her back to Haru’s car, not even bothering to open the door for her this time. They pull out of the parking lot in silence, and in the corner of her eye, Eli can swear that she sees a flash of orange hair tied into a side ponytail.  
  
“Eli,” Haru starts. Eli makes sure to not even look at him.  
  
“I’m really sorry,” Haru says. “I shouldn’t have let that guy get to me. I don’t know what came over me. I just had to get him away from you.”  
  
In all honesty, Eli is actually glad for that. She was fairly confident that the guy wouldn’t do anything to her, but that didn’t make it any less of a relief when Haru stepped in. She’ll never tell him that, though. Instead she remains silent, staring out the window as the trees and houses pass her by.  
  
Haru sighs. Chances are, he knows this date is pretty well screwed. “I guess you’re not looking forward to a second date, then?”  
  
Eli just sends him a dirty look that gives him his answer.  
  
When they arrive back at campus, Haru drops Eli off in front of her dorm. “I’ll leave you alone now,” he says as she gets out of the car. “I swear. I wouldn’t wanna date me, either.”  
  
It almost sounds guilt-trippy, but Eli doesn’t let that bother her. No amount of sob stories or pleas for a second chance will change her mind if she can help it.  
  
The first thing she sees when she opens the door to her dorm room isn’t actually a thing, but a person. Nozomi, to be exact, lying on her stomach on Eli’s bed and typing furiously on her laptop. “Hey there,” Nozomi says, looking up, the glow of the computer screen reflecting in her blue-green eyes. “I figured I’d hang out here and do a little work until you got back. How was it? Honoka’s been keeping me updated.”  
  
“Honoka?” Eli repeats, thinking of the sophomore girl Nozomi sat with at lunch yesterday, the one she thought she saw tonight.  
  
“Yeah, another djinn. Blue eyes, orangey hair, usually in a side ponytail?”  
  
Eli sits down on the bed, nodding in amusement. “I think I saw her at the restaurant.”  
  
“Probably. I sent her out to be my little spy, y’know, just to make sure everything was going okay. She’s quite cute, that one. But enough about her,” Nozomi adds. “Was it a success?”  
  
Eli nods, smiling a little. “I think so. He said he’d leave me alone now. I think he took the hint that I’m not interested in him, especially not after that fight.”  
  
Nozomi grins, her eyes seeming to shine with genuine satisfaction. “Good. I’m glad I was able to help someone.” She closes her laptop and slides it into its case. “Well, I should probably get going now,” she says, standing up. “You can chat with me anytime. Don’t be a stranger!”  
  
Even after Nozomi leaves, closing the door behind her, Eli still can’t help but stare at it. She’s never had a roommate before, but if the roommate were Nozomi, perhaps she wouldn’t mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm back with another chapter!!! it's a bit longer than the others were so please enjoy !!!! much gayness ensues in this chapter ;) also sara is an original character like haru, and ALSO rin is a trans girl!!! (she will probably be trans in most if not all of my other works that feature her since i headcanon her as a trans girl)

On Sunday, Nozomi tells Eli that she, Nico, Honoka, and another girl named Hanayo—a girl Eli only knows through her friend Rin—are throwing an all-girls’ party Friday night at Nozomi’s apartment, which she shares with Nico. “We figured you needed it after everything with Haru,” she says with a wink.  
  
She doesn’t seem completely serious, but she’s actually hit the nail on the head; Eli _does_ need some time to unwind, specifically without any boys getting in the way of it. She’s generally not really a party type, but this is a party with nothing but wonderful, beautiful ladies, and it sounds perfect.  
  
_Wow, that was really gay. That was a really gay sentence._ __  
__  
Throughout the week, Eli starts to hang out more with Nozomi and introduces her to her friends, while also becoming better acquainted with Nozomi’s. Occasionally, Nozomi invites herself into Eli’s room for some “study sessions,” which consist of them both pretending to do work for the literature class that they share while actually procrastinating and laughing at stupid memes on the internet. Sometimes Eli will randomly make a wish to pass the time or see what would happen, and sometimes Nozomi will ask Eli to make a wish for her just because she wants an excuse to poof up a Great Dane.  
  
“She’s a genie, right?” Maki says one day at lunch. “Because she seems like she’s making all your wishes come true.”  
  
At that, Eli’s face heats up. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she hisses.  
  
Maki shrugs indifferently. “She just seems like…someone you didn’t know you needed.”  
  
_Someone you didn’t know you needed._ __  
__  
In a more literal sense, she’s absolutely right—until last Friday, Eli had no idea that she wanted or needed a wish-granting genie in her life. But something tells her that this is one of Maki’s rarer, more introspective moments, and she’s not quite sure what that means for her.  
  
Thursday night, Eli can’t even sleep properly, and she doesn’t really know why. Sure, the party is tomorrow, but she can’t be _that_ nervous. Whatever the reason, though, it leads her to texting Rin, who also happens to be awake and thinking about the party.  
  
**Rin Hoshizora:** _idk if I should even go…maybe it’d be better if I just stayed in my dorm_ __  
**Eli Ayase:** _But you want to come, right?_ __  
**Rin Hoshizora:** _well yeah, of course I do_ __  
**Eli Ayase:** _Then you should. Nozomi is super nice and accepting._ __  
**Rin Hoshizora:** _but it’s an all-girls party…_ __  
**Eli Ayase:** _So what? You’re a girl, no matter what you look like._ __  
__  
She finishes that last text with a reassuring heart emoji. Strangely enough, helping Rin with her insecurities has helped to alleviate some of Eli’s nervousness, if that’s truly what’s keeping her awake. Soon enough, she finds herself starting to drift off, thinking of nothing but what to wear for tomorrow night.  
  
—  
  
Suddenly, none of the clothes in Eli’s wardrobe are pretty enough, and none of her makeup is nice enough.  
  
Part of her wants to call Nozomi for assistance, but a bigger, more stubborn part of her wants her outfit to be a surprise. She wants the girls at that party—especially Nozomi—to stop in their tracks when they see her. She wants to make straight girls question their sexuality. She wants to be the polar opposite of how she looked and acted last Saturday with Haru.  
  
As she’s digging through her dresser with her back turned to the door, hoping to magically find a gold mine beneath all her other clothes, a voice behind her says, “Need some help?”  
  
Startled, Eli jumps, hitting her hand on a drawer. Spinning around ungracefully, she sees none other than Nico Yazawa standing in her doorway. “Wha—”  
  
Nico makes a face. “Sorry. Djinn thing. But you _do_ need help, don’t you?”  
  
“I—well—how did you know?” Eli stutters.  
  
Nico shrugs. “I could tell. You wanna look your best, right? You’re not my client, but I can help you out anyway. And I’d love to. Your wish is my command.” She winks.  
  
“Uh…okay,” Eli says. “Then I wish I had a gorgeous selection of clothes to choose from.”  
  
“My favorite kind of wish,” Nico says, snapping her fingers with a grin.  
  
In a blink, Eli’s dorm room is filled with a dazzling assortment of outfits to choose from—top, bottom, shoes, jewelry, even a few purses and hats. “You’ve gotta have variety,” Nico says, beaming. She looks as though she’s in her prime.  
  
After copious modeling sessions on Eli’s part, she and Nico agree on a strapless dark red dress with the back cut out and a fairly short hem that flares out a little bit. Her shoes are nice black sandals—she refuses to wear heels, as walking in them would be awkward and ruin the effect she’s going for—and she wears a silver necklace with a small red heart charm along with red gemstone earrings. Nico gives her a small black cross-body purse and then says, “Any other wishes?”  
  
“I wish I had better makeup,” Eli says immediately.  
  
_Snap._ A full makeup kit appears in the bathroom from nowhere. “Go wild,” Nico says.  
  
About half an hour later, Eli emerges with her cheeks more defined and highlighted, her eyeshadow silvery and sparkly, her eyeliner winged perfectly, and her lips colored bright red. “I wish my nails were perfectly painted red and already dry,” she says.  
  
_Snap._ “Anything else?” Nico says eagerly. “No matter how simple it is.”  
  
Eli takes her hair out of its ponytail and fluffs it a little bit. “I wish my hair was wavier.”  
  
With another snap, Nico makes Eli’s hair slightly wavier and curled at the ends, as if it had been in rollers all day. Eli smiles at her reflection in the mirror, feeling pretty and confident for the first time in a long time—God only knows how long it’s been. “Perfect.”  
  
Nico gives a thumbs-up. “Great! Glad to be of service. You look beautiful.” She blows a kiss at Eli and then, with a final snap of her fingers, disappears from the room as if she’d never even been there.  
  
“Genies,” Eli says to herself, but she’s still smiling.  
  
She’s one of the first few people to arrive at Nozomi’s apartment at seven. Nico greets her with a knowing grin, and when she steps inside, the first thing she notices is the wonderfully weird décor. Artwork of various runes and symbols line the wall, and in the living room, there’s an ironic poster of Genie from Disney’s _Aladdin._ A centerpiece of fake black roses sits on the kitchen table, which is covered in plates of refreshments. As Eli admires Nozomi and Nico’s place, Nozomi herself pops her head out of the kitchen, eyes widening slightly at the sight of Eli. “Well, hello,” she says casually, strolling into the living room. “Glad you could make it.”  
  
Nozomi is wearing a flashy blue top, a short black skirt, and black knee-high boots, and her hair is neatly braided. Eli makes an effort not to stare and says, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”  
  
From a back room down the hallway, Honoka appears, followed by a meek, chubby girl with short light brown hair—presumably Hanayo. “Is she a djinn, too?” Eli asks.  
  
Nozomi shakes her head. “No, but she knows someone who is. But the person in question is a bit insecure. We’re hoping Hanayo convinced her to come tonight.” She gestures to the table. “Help yourself. There’s more out on the kitchen counter, too.”  
  
Nozomi really did prepare a feast of snacks—cheese cubes, various types of chips and dip, pretzels, candy, cookies, brownies, fruit and vegetable trays, as well as all sorts of sodas, fruit juices, and even some alcohol. “I trust you’ll all be responsible,” Nozomi says, “but Hanayo and I’ll be keeping an eye on everyone else, just in case.” She eyes Nico and Honoka, the latter of whom isn’t even old enough to drink legally in the U.S.  
  
An exclamation point seems to appear over both of their heads. “What!” they exclaim in unison.  
  
Nozomi wags her finger at them like a mother or older sister figure. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Tsk, tsk.”  
  
Nico makes a pouty face while Honoka laughs nervously.  
  
Before Nozomi can scold them any more, though, there’s a knock on the front door. Nozomi heads over to answer it, and Eli lingers close behind in order to see who it is.  
  
As it turns out, the girl standing in the doorway is none other than Rin. She has the bangs of her short orange hair pulled up on top of her head with a green bow and is wearing gold hoop earrings, along with a mostly white blouse with a black-and-red collar and sleeve cuffs. “You look wonderful,” Nozomi tells her with a winning smile.  
  
Rin beams. “I can come in, right?” she says nervously, glancing down at herself.  
  
“Well, you’re a girl, aren’t you?” Nozomi says.  
  
Rin’s eyes light up, and she nods furiously.  
  
“Then you’re welcome here. What’s your name, huh?”  
  
“Rin,” she says, hesitantly stepping inside. “Rin Hoshizora.”  
  
Nozomi glances over her shoulder in wonder. “Hanayo!” she calls. “Is this the girl you mentioned?”  
  
Hanayo nods, smiling softly.  
  
Eli just stares at Rin for a moment, remembering all the times she has seemed to just appear out of nowhere. “Rin?” she says. “You’re a _genie_?”  
  
Rin just laughs, quickly warming up to the atmosphere and shedding her insecurities. “Yeah, but I’m not really trained. Hanayo met Nozomi in one of her classes, but I was always nervous to meet her or talk to anyone about it. I guess I was kind of in denial. You’d think I’d be used to this by now with all the self-discovery crap.” She blushes.  
  
“Well, you’ll find a lot of friends here,” Nozomi says, putting a hand on Rin’s shoulder. “You wanna learn about being a djinn? Nico, Honoka, and I have your back. Feel free to use them as test dummies.”  
  
“ _What_?” Nico says. Honoka just groans.  
  
Within about twenty minutes, most of the other girls have showed up—some of them are Eli’s friends, but quite a few others are strangers. They all seem to know Nozomi and Nico, though, and soon enough, it starts to look a lot like a typical college party, but with more responsible partygoers. Honoka has already started chatting up some girl with short, light hair and bright green eyes.  
  
Nozomi is in one corner of the main room, talking to Rin. Eli kind of wants to hang out with them, but since she figures they’re probably involved in genie business, she opts for sitting on the couch next to two other friends of hers, Umi and Kotori. She doesn’t get much out other than a “hello,” though, because then she notices a young woman—an absolutely stunning young woman—strolling toward her.  
  
Eli stands back up, mesmerized by the girl’s beauty. Her skin is smooth and tan, her hair is dark and wavy, and she’s wearing a pretty black dress with black fishnet stockings and black heels. “Hey there,” she says in a low, almost sultry voice. “How’re you doing tonight, beautiful?”  
  
Eli takes a few steps toward her, away from the living area. “Pretty fantastic, I must say,” she replies, subconsciously tucking a strand of light, wavy hair behind her ear. “But the real question is, how are _you_ tonight?”  
  
The girl takes ahold of Eli’s hand and playfully spins her around so that her back is against the wall. “Absolutely perfect.”  
  
Eli’s face heats up, and she casually slides out from the wall, suddenly feeling self-conscious, nervous, and maybe even a little embarrassed. “I—I’m gonna go get a drink,” she says before turning and making her way to the kitchen area.  
  
The first thing she sees, to her surprise, is Nico sitting on one of the countertops—one that _isn’t_ covered with food—with her legs crossed. She’s talking to none other than Maki, who is leaning against the island counter with her arms folded and one eyebrow raised in what looks like a mixture of skepticism and amusement.  
  
Nico glances over at Eli. “Oh, hey!” she calls over the sound of chatter and the music playing. “How’s your night going? I’m trying to get some new clients. You think your friend over here might like to be one?”  
  
Eli shrugs. “Why don’t you ask her?”  
  
“I did, but she’s acting like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about. You can’t come to one of these parties and _not_ know that there are four genies in the place.”  
  
Maki looks away from her, absentmindedly twirling a strand of pink hair. “I just don’t know if I want to get involved in any of this, that’s all.”  
  
Nico makes a face, jumping down from the countertop. “That’s understandable,” she says, actually sounding genuine. “We’re a rowdy, messy bunch. But you should come back and talk to me once you’ve warmed up to us.” With that, she strolls out of the kitchen, wine glass in hand.  
  
Maki turns to Eli. “So, how _is_ your night going?” she asks as she takes a bite of a pretzel stick.  
  
Eli laughs a little. “Not bad. I just met this really pretty girl—I don’t even know her name.” Glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one else is listening, she adds, “I think she’s into me, but I don’t know what to do about it. I feel weird.”  
  
Maki gives her a little half-smile. “I mean, I’m not really the best person to ask about this kind of thing. If I told you to just go for it, I’d be a hypocrite. Maybe try to figure out _why_ you feel weird. Once you pinpoint the reason behind your feelings, I think that makes it easier to decide what to do about them.”  
  
Eli nods slowly and then heads over to the drinks, pouring a glass of soda for herself. “Thanks,” she says, heading out of the kitchen and over to the living room, where a bunch of girls are sitting on the floor.  
  
“Eli!” Nozomi says, standing up and gesturing to the group. “You wanna play Spin the Bottle with us? We’re just starting.”  
  
One part of Eli wonders who in the world plays Spin the Bottle anymore. Another part of her marvels at the clichéd nature of it all. But the most dominant part of her notes that the unnamed girl is playing, too, and that’s what compels her to join.  
  
“Great!” Nozomi says in response to Eli’s nod. Eli sits down between Nozomi and the pretty girl, noting the other people in the group: Honoka, Rin, and the girl Honoka was talking to earlier. “Oh! Just one thing, though: this is a _magical_ game of Spin the Bottle. As djinni can generally only perform magic—other than teleportation—if someone wishes them to, if you want the bottle to land on a specific person, you may whisper your wish to the nearest djinn. If multiple people make a wish at one time, whoever grants a wish the fastest will make it come true. If multiple people ask the same genie for a wish, it’ll be up to the genie to decide whose wish they want to grant. For example, if it’s Rin’s turn, and Eli tells me that she wishes the bottle would land on Honoka, but Honoka tells me that she wishes the bottle would land on me, it’s up to me to decide whose wish I would rather grant. However, you cannot make a wish when it’s your turn to spin the bottle. If Tsubasa really wants to kiss Eli, she can’t wish that the bottle would land on Eli when it’s her turn. However, if it’s someone else’s turn to spin and you really want to kiss that person, you _can_ wish that the bottle would land on you. You also risk being obvious about wanting to kiss someone if you do this, but I don’t know how many of you care about that. And if you want, once everyone’s had a turn, we can do a round without any magical interference.” She waves a hand nonchalantly, as if she’s only finished explaining a basketball game on TV.  
  
“I’ll go first,” Honoka says energetically, getting up to switch places with the pretty girl so that the genies are staggered in between the non-genies. Then she gives the empty bottle (which looks like it’s been empty for a long time, or perhaps never filled, perhaps conjured up specifically for this game) a hard whirl.  
  
As the bottle spins, Tsubasa—Honoka’s green-eyed friend—quickly whispers something in Rin’s ear. At the same time, though, Rin’s eyes light up mischievously, and she leans over to whisper something to Nozomi. Stubbornly, Rin refrains from granting Tsubasa’s wish, and as the bottle slows down, Nozomi says, “Fine. It’s gonna land on me anyway. I don’t even have to use magic.”  
  
Sure enough, the bottle stops naturally with its lid pointed directly at Nozomi. Honoka stares at Rin and says, “What?”  
  
Rin giggles, and Tsubasa pouts.  
  
Honoka sighs, glancing longingly at Tsubasa. Casually—as though she’s kissed many people before, and one more won’t make any difference—Nozomi leans forward and plants a short but firm kiss to Honoka’s lips. “Is that watermelon chapstick?” she says coolly. “It tastes nice. Next!”  
  
Tsubasa, sitting on Honoka’s other side, blushes and spins the bottle.  
  
Almost immediately, Honoka leans over and whispers a wish to Rin. Nobody else challenges it or asks another wish, so Rin says, “Done,” and snaps her fingers. “See? I knew you two would get your kiss at some point, sooner rather than later.”  
  
Predictably, the bottle lands on Honoka, who grins and puts her arms around Tsubasa, kissing her long and hard. Nozomi rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Clearly they’ve made quick work of that chemistry between them.” She points at Rin. “Your turn, rookie!”  
  
Reluctantly, Rin spins the bottle. Eli remembers the few conversations she’s had with Rin about Hanayo and gets an interesting idea. Leaning over to Nozomi, she whispers, “I wish the bottle would somehow land pointing at Hanayo.”  
  
Nozomi grins. “I like the way you think.” _Snap._ __  
__  
With that, the bottle, still spinning, starts to fly, floating in midair right next to Hanayo, who looks up at it in surprise from her spot against the wall as it stops, pointing right at her (and still levitating). “I—what?”  
  
Rin blushes furiously and stands up, sending Eli a knowing look. Then she strolls over to Hanayo and wordlessly places a soft, innocent kiss on her lips.  
  
“Adorable,” Nozomi says, clapping a little. “Your turn, Sara!”  
  
_Sara._ So that’s her name.  
  
Eli’s heart jumps as Sara spins the bottle with a wordless smile and a glance in Eli’s direction. Normally, nervousness would win out, but she knows deep down that that smile is meant only for her. She can’t help but feel like she’d be betraying Nozomi somehow, though, but her desire wins out against her doubt. Still anxious, she leans over to Honoka and whispers, her heart pounding, “I wish the bottle would land on me.”  
  
“Done,” Honoka whispers back, snapping her fingers quietly.  
  
Since no one else has made a wish, Eli becomes acutely aware of being obvious about her attraction to Sara, which Nozomi warned them all of at the beginning of the game. She can’t take it back now, though, and as the bottle slows down, Sara’s little smile starts to widen. Rin and Honoka make small, teasing “ooh” sounds.  
  
Eli doesn’t look at Nozomi as she leans forward, letting Sara cup her face in her hand and bringing their lips together. Sara’s are soft and warm, and Eli sighs quietly. It’s been so long since the last time she’s kissed a girl.  
  
Still nervous and slightly embarrassed, Eli pulls away prematurely, her face heating up. Sara doesn’t seem disappointed, though; in fact, she just looks pleased. “Better than I imagined,” she comments.  
  
“Beautiful,” Nozomi says. “I guess that means it’s my turn.” Casually, she spins the bottle.  
  
At once, Sara and Tsubasa turn toward Rin and Honoka, and Rin and Honoka lean toward each other, all eager to make Nozomi kiss someone. Furious whispering ensues, and a few seconds later, Rin reaches her hand up toward the ceiling and, with a snap of her fingers, shouts, “Done!”  
  
Nozomi’s gaze rests firmly on the bottle, as if willing it to land at a certain time or on a certain person. When it slows down, Eli’s heart speeds up again—because it lands on her.  
  
Nozomi glances over at Rin very briefly, too brief for Eli to try to decipher what it means. Then she turns toward Eli with her usual grin and says, “It’s your lucky day, Eli. I’ve kissed more women than you could possibly imagine.”  
  
“She’s very good at it,” Honoka pipes up.  
  
Before Eli can properly react—she’s not sure _how_ to react—Nozomi leans forward and plants a firm kiss on Eli’s lips. Eli reaches up to hold onto Nozomi’s shoulder, and Nozomi rests her hand on Eli’s cheek, moving her lips slowly but surely. Instinctively, Eli lets out a soft “Mmm.”  
  
It ends too soon, Nozomi being the one to pull away this time, a twinkle in her eyes. “Now it’s your turn to spin the bottle. Who’re you gonna kiss this time, I wonder?”  
  
Blushing wildly, Eli nods and gives the bottle a hard spin, her eyes flitting from girl to girl. Then Sara leans over and whispers something to Nozomi, who bites her lip and narrows her eyes as if thinking deeply about the request. No one else comes forward with a wish, so she says, her voice less flamboyant than usual, “Done.” When she snaps her fingers, something about it lacks enthusiasm.  
  
Eli’s breath catches, knowing deep down what Sara’s wish was even before the bottle starts to slow down. When it lands on her again, it feels almost inevitable. “I—Sara—”  
  
Before she can even finish her own sentence, Eli stops and leans forward to kiss Sara, wrapping an arm around her neck. Sara, initially caught off guard, kisses back with a new intensity, both of their lips moving against each other. Sara’s hand reaches around and settles itself on Eli’s lower back, and she nibbles playfully at Eli’s lower lip.  
  
Behind them, Nozomi clears her throat. Eli and Sara break away, both breathless and red-faced. Sara flashes a shameless grin at the group, while Eli giggles in embarrassment, unable to believe what just happened. “S-sorry,” she stutters.  
  
Nozomi just claps her hands together. “So! Now that that’s out of the way, wanna play a non-magical round?”  
  
This round goes much more smoothly, but it’s also much more awkward—Honoka kisses Eli, Tsubasa kisses Nozomi, Rin kisses Honoka, Sara kisses Tsubasa, Nozomi kisses Rin, and Eli...kisses Nozomi again. Eli feels like she’s in some sort of lesbian dream.  
  
Eli stays at the party later than most of the other guests. When Sara says that she should probably get going, Eli can’t help but make a move—she’s come too close to lose this beautiful girl now. “Um...Sara?” she says shyly, nervousness suddenly overtaking her once again.  
  
Sara raises an eyebrow, always so confident, so knowing, so unabashed. “Yes?”  
  
“I—uh, I’d really like to see you again,” Eli says, playing with a strand of blond hair.  
  
“I’d like that,” Sara replies, understanding what she means immediately and pulling out her phone. “Wanna exchange numbers?”  
  
“I thought you’d never ask.”  
  
Once a majority of the girls are gone, Eli goes searching for Nozomi, who is found in the kitchen, snacking on salt and vinegar potato chips. Nico is there, too, grabbing every leftover cookie and trying to stuff them in her bra. It doesn’t really work, though, due to her lack of cleavage, and most of the cookies just end up falling to the floor. Nonchalantly, Nozomi says, “I can see you doing that, you know. Also, have you forgotten that we can both just poof up more when we run out?”  
  
“I’ve just always wanted an excuse to stuff cookies in my bra,” Nico says with a sigh, picking the cookies up from the floor and taking a bite out of one. “Five-second rule,” she adds with her mouth full.  
  
“Is this any way to act in front of our guest?” Nozomi says sarcastically, gesturing to Eli, who laughs a little at their banter.  
  
Nico waves a hand. “Oh, she’ll see me in worse situations. You’re just lucky I behaved.”  
  
Nozomi shrugs. “That’s true. But I feel like you’ve got an ulterior motive for it.”  
  
“Hey. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Nico responds. She starts to walk out of the room, swiping a half-eaten chip out of Nozomi’s hand on her way.  
  
“Hey!” Nozomi says indignantly. “That—that has my germs on it!”  
  
Without turning around, Nico calls, “I just ate a cookie off the floor. You think I care about germs?”  
  
“You should!” Nozomi calls back. Then, turning to Eli with a blush tinting her cheeks, she says, “I, ah...thanks for coming, Eli.”  
  
“Thanks for having me,” Eli replies, suddenly feeling bashful. “I should probably be heading back now, though.”  
  
Nozomi makes a contemplative face. “Hmm. It _is_ late. How ‘bout I poof you into your dorm room so you can’t run into anybody dangerous? Just say the word.”  
  
Eli nods gratefully. “Thank you so much, Nozomi. I wish I was back in my dorm room.”  
  
With a soft smile and sparkling eyes, Nozomi says, “Done.” Snap.  
  
In the blink of an eye, Eli is back in her dorm room, alone. Where Nozomi stood in front of her just a moment ago, there is only carpet and empty air. It’s as if she never even went to the party, save for the outfit she’s wearing and the new phone number in her contacts. Perhaps that’s all she needs.  
  
Perhaps one day Nozomi will host another one.


End file.
